WEEKLY QUOTES
“Examining American democracy’s current challenges reinforces the confident conclusion that Israel is doing just about as well as can be expected on the democracy front. Just as you can’t judge a book by its cover, you cannot judge a democracy by its loudest demagogues, its most violent police officers, or its most controversial moves. In the Middle East, Israel’s ever-expanding unwritten constitution, guaranteeing more and more rights to more and more people while sustaining a strong sense of national community, is stronger than ever.” — Gil Troy responding to predictions that Israel’s proposed judicial reforms will lead to the end of Israeli democracy.
(Tablet, Feb. 1, 2023)
“Over the past week we have seen just how estranged from truth the West’s fashionable anti-Israel set has become. Something extraordinary happened: woke commentators and activists expressed more fury over a massacre that didn’t happen than they did over one that did happen. They made more noise over a massacre that exists mostly in their imaginations than they did over a massacre that existed in the real world, that shattered people’s lives in the most violent, horrifying and bigoted fashion imaginable. This tale of two massacres, of the real and unreal, sheds a harsh and unforgiving light on anti-Israel sentiment today.” – Brendan O’Neill comparing the military clash in Jenin wherein Israel killed Palestinian gunmen, and the shooting to death of seven Israeli men, women and children in a synagogue Fri. night. The former was depicted by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and other media outlets as a “massacre,” while the response to the latter was more muted. (Spiked, Jan. 30, 2023)
The U.S. “enhanced our surveillance of our territorial airspace, we enhanced our capacity to be able to detect things that the Trump administration was unable to detect.” — White House Security Council Advisor Jake Sullivan. He added that as part of those efforts “we were able to go back and look at the historical patterns” and uncover “multiple instances” during the Trump administration in which Chinese surveillance balloons traversed American airspace and territory. (Fox6 Milwaukee, Feb. 6, 2023)
“Ryder: We do know that the balloon has violated U.S. airspace and international law, which is unacceptable. … Reporter: Is the position of the balloon classified? Ryder; What we’re not going to do is get into an hour-by-hour location of the balloon … right now it’s over the center of the continental United States, that’s about as specific as I’m going to get … Reporter: Does the public have a right to know if the balloon is over their state? Ryder: The public certainly has the ability to look up in the sky and see where the balloon is.” — Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder at a “Briefing” (WSJ, Feb. 3, 2023)
“The U.S. is making a bit of a fuss over a minor issue [because of domestic pressure on Mr. Biden to show toughness]. … What this shows China is that the China-U.S. relationship confronts growing interference from American domestic politics, and that the Biden administration‘s ability to manage such political disruptions is limited.” — Wu Xinbo, Dean of Shanghai’s Fudan University Institute of International Studies. (WSJ, Feb. 5, 2023)
“Clearly, the president taking it down over the Atlantic is . . . sort of like tackling the quarterback after the game is over.” — Rep. Mike Turner (R.-Ohi.), House Intelligence Committee Chair. (Meet the Press, Feb. 5, 2023)
“A big Chinese balloon in the sky and millions of Chinese Tik Tok balloons on our phones. Let’s shut them all down.”—Sen. Mitt Romney (R.-Ut.) –Mark Moore. (NY Post, Feb. 5, 2023)
“There are lives at stake. There are techniques at stake. This is complex stuff.”— Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino on China’s spy balloon that hovered over Canada for several days on its way to the U.S. He responded to Conservative public safety critic Raquel Dancho who asked why the Canadians didn’t learn about the balloon from the federal government or the Canadian media instead of from the U.S. (Epoch Times, Feb. 7, 2023)
“Month and month after month, we have set records for migrants coming into the country. I think it’s Intentional. I don’t know how anyone with common sense or logic can reach any other conclusion. It seems deliberate, it seems premeditated. … Make no mistake, the Biden administration is … carrying out its plan … The worst part is that none of this had to happen. Under President Trump, the border was secure. Under President Biden, there is no border.” — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R.-Oh.), at the first of a series of Congressional hearings on the illegal immigrant surge Wednesday. (NY Post, Feb. 1, 2023)
[Veteran journalist and historian Gareth] Porter, writing in Consortium News, said the Times’ use of the 126 million audience number, plus the piece’s failure to reflect that Facebook users were exposed to 33 trillion news feeds during the relevant period, “should vie in the annals of journalism as one of the most spectacularly misleading use of statistics of all time.” – Jeff Gerth criticizing the legacy media’s coverage of the Russia hoax. He referred to the Times’ insistence that the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a privately owned troll operation in Russia’s Facebook posts had an “eventual audience of 126 million Americans,” describing that as an “impressive” reach that almost matched the numbers of voters in the election. (Columbia Journalism Review, Jan. 30, 2023)
SHORT TAKES
ISRAEL SENDS AID TO TURKEY AND SYRIA IN WAKE OF EARTHQUAKE THAT HAS KILLED THOUSANDS (Jerusalem) — Israel is sending aid to Turkey and Syria in the wake of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that has left over 7,000 dead. Israel will send medication, tents and other supplies to Syria, a hostile country. The Israeli military will also send rescue teams to both countries., (JTA, Feb. 6, 2023)
HEAD OF TINY JEWISH COMMUNITY IN TURKEY’S ANTAKYA FEARED DEAD; TORAH SCROLLS SAVED (Antakya) — The head of a small Turkish Jewish community and his wife were feared dead after their Antakya apartment building collapsed during the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Saul and Fortuna Cenudioglu have not yet been declared dead but were presumed to have been killed during the tremors. The damaged synagogue’s Torah scrolls were rescued. (Times of Israel, Feb. 7, 2023)
ISRAEL AND SUDAN AGREE TO REVIVE PEACE DEAL (Jerusalem) — Israel and Sudan have agreed to sign a peace treaty, with a signing ceremony to be held in Washington, DC in a few months. Sudan would become the fourth Arab country to join the Abraham Accords, including UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco. (Sudan hosted the Arab League summit in Khartoum, after the 1967 Six Days War, which enunciated the “Three Nos”: No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel.] (WSJ, Feb. 2, 2023)
NETANYAHU REJECTS BIDEN ADMIN CALL TO ‘PAUSE’ JUDEA AND SAMARIA CONSTRUCTION (Jerusalem) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a call by the Biden administration to temporarily freeze construction in Judea and Samaria and halt demolitions of illegal Arab structures in those territories as well as the eastern part of Jerusalem. However, while Israeli officials stressed that these activities would not be stopped completely, ad hoc concessions would be made. (WIN, Feb. 7, 2023)
RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR CREATION OF PALESTINIAN STATE DURING VISIT TO IRAQ TO BOLSTER SUPPORT FOR PUTIN (Moscow) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for the creation of an independent Palestinian state during an official visit to Iraq to shore up support for President Vladimir Putin’s regime as the war in Ukraine enters its second year. Russia has periodically called for the establishment of a Palestinian state over the last 12 months in a bid to call out the US and its NATO allies for alleged double standards in their backing of Ukraine’s democratic government. (Algemeiner, Feb. 7, 2023)
YIVO DIGITIZES WRITER CHAIM GRADE’S ARCHIVE (Jerusalem) — This week YIVO and the NLI will announce the completion of the digitization of “The Papers of Chaim Grade and Inna Hecker Grade,” making the entire archive publicly accessible online. In 2013, Chaim Grade’s personal papers, 20,000-volume library, literary manuscripts and publication rights were awarded to the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the National Library of Israel. They are now stored in YIVO headquarters on Manhattan’s W. 16th Street. (JTA, Feb. 5, 2023)
IRAN UNVEILS UNDERGROUND AIRBASE TASKED WITH RESPONDING TO POTENTIAL ISRAELI ASSAULT (Tehran) — Iran unveiled what it said was its first underground air force base with the head of the Islamic Republic’s military saying the site would be among those used to launch a response to any potential strikes by Israel or others. The Eagle 44 site was one of Iran’s most important military facilities and would be home to fighter jets equipped with long-range cruise missiles. The location of the base was not disclosed as part of attempts by Iran to put key military and nuclear facilities out of the way of potential strikes. (Times of Israel, Feb. 7, 2023)
TURKEY ARRESTS ISIS MEMBERS ALLEGEDLY TARGETING ISTANBUL SYNAGOGUES (Istanbul) — Istanbul police arrested 15 suspects connected to the Islamic State terror group who were allegedly plotting to target synagogues and churches. The potential attacks were believed to be retaliation for the public burning of a Quran by a far-right Danish politician outside of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, in late January. (JTA, Feb. 6, 2023)
NY EDUCATION COMMISSIONER UNDER FIRE OVER ‘EGREGIOUS DISTORTIONS OF HISTORY’ IN EXAM QUESTIONS ABOUT ISRAEL (NY) — Jewish groups and leaders are up in arms after a New York State Global History and Geography Regents exam included two questions about Israel that they believe oversimplifies and distorts history. (Fox News, Feb. 1, 2023)
OREGON UNIVERSITY THAT FIRED PROFESSOR WHO REPORTED ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS SETTLES WITH HIM FOR $1M(McMinnville) — Linfield University, a private school in McMinnville, will pay $1 million to English professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner for his wrongful termination in 2021. Pollack-Pelzner had accused the school’s president, Miles K. Davis, of making antisemitic remarks in front of him. After his termination, Pollack-Pelzner, who was tenured, sued the school for $4 million. (JTA, Feb. 6, 2023)
JOE ROGAN: ‘THE IDEA THAT JEWISH PEOPLE ARE NOT INTO MONEY IS RIDICULOUS’ (Lake Austin) — It’s “ridiculous” to doubt that Jews like money, popular podcaster Joe Rogan said on his show on Saturday. Rogan was discussing the 2019 tweet by Representative Ilhan Oman in which she wrote that pro-Israel votes in Congress were “all about the Benjamins.” That tweet, for which she has apologized, was one of several statements House Republicans pointed to when they removed her last week from The House Foreign Affairs Committee. But Rogan defended the statement on his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.” The show attracts some 11 million listeners per episode, and is the most popular podcast on Spotify’s platform. (Jerusalem Post, Feb. 7, 2023)
IRANIAN PROTEST SONG ‘BARAYE’ WINS BEST PIECE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE AT 2023 GRAMMYS (LA) — Iranian singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour won the Special Merit Award for Best Song For Social Change at the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday night for his song Baraye, which has become the unofficial anthem for the anti-government protests in Iran that started following the death of Mahsa Amini. (WIN, Feb. 6, 2023)
PRIOR CHINESE BALLOON INCURSIONS OVER U.S. WENT UNDETECTED, OFFICIALS SAY (Washington) — Biden Administration officials and defense officials disclosed that there had been previous intrusions over the continental U.S., including at least three during the Trump Administration. (President Trump and former defense officials associated with his Administration have denied any knowledge of such intrusions.) (WSJ, Feb. 5, 2023)
MOSCOW, TEHRAN ADVANCE PLANS FOR IRANIAN-DESIGNED DRONE FACILITY IN RUSSIA(Moscow) — Moscow and Tehran, in the context of deepening economic and political cooperation, are planning to build a new factory in Russia to produce improved Iranian-designed drones. (WSJ, Feb. 5, 2023)
RON DESANTIS CLAIMS OF LIBERAL BIAS PUT FLORIDA COLLEGE AT CROSSROADS (Miami) — Republican Florida governor Ron Desantis has proposed legislation to revamp the state’s higher education system. He wants to oppose campuses’ using funding to support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, using higher education to impose ideological conformity on students. Requiring DEI statements in hiring would be forgiven and presidents and boards of trustees given the right to review faculty members’ tenure at any time. (WSJ, Jan. 27, 2023)
PROGRESSIVE ACTIVISTS LAUNCH ONLINE WITCH HUNT TARGETING FANS OF HARRY POTTER VIDEO GAME (London) — The industry conflict over a widely anticipated Harry Potter-themed video gameescalated when a progressive activist launched an online witch hunt to expose professional and recreational streamers of the product. Social-justice activists have boycotted the game over its affiliation with J. K. Rowling — the author behind the wildly popular book series that inspired the video game — who has spoken out in recent years against the more extreme demands of the transgender movement. (National Review, Feb. 7, 2023)
Chaos in the Knesset: MK Forcibly Removed After Calling For ‘Revolt’: Lauren Marcus, World Israel News, Feb. 7, 2023 — An MK from the Arab Joint List party with a long history of controversial remarks called on the citizens of Israel to rebel en masse against the current Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was forcibly removed from the Knesset plenum.